Taxi Driver Online

£26M BLACK CAB BLACK MARKET

Taxi tycoons raking in millions through crafty licence loophole

A black market in cab licences worth at least £26MILLION each year is today exposed by the News of the World.

Wily taxi plate owners exploit a lucrative loophole to rake in a fortune through the [edited by admin] scheme.

The licences should cost £166 but because numbers are strictly limitred by local authorities, the permits are changing hands on the streets for between £40,000 and £60,000.

And in Glasgow alone, the backdoor industry makes up to half a million pounds every WEEK.

One insider said last night; “The taxi trade involves big money – this is a licence to print the stuff.”

Council chiefs in Glasgow restricted the number of black cab licences to 1,428 in the early 1990’s. That figure remains the same today.

Yet of those, only THREE permits are held by named individuals.

The other 1,425 are owned by small businesses who used them to generate huge sums.

Though it’s against regulations to trade the taxi plates – operators have found a way to bend the rules by setting upo registered companies.

When they want to sell the plates they simply inform the council that another director ha s joined the firm. That person can now legitimately use the licence.

The back door system means no new licences are ever available – despite a massive waiting list of hopefuls across the city.

One typical example of the businessmen who are making the plates pay is Glasgow-based entrepreneur John Cowe – who rakes in up to £1.5million a year from more than 100 black cab permits.

Mr Cowe – who runs London Taxis Direct – rents then or sells then in instalments to drivers who pay him £350 a week.

Posing as a would-be taxi driver, our investigator visited his office in Glasgow’s east end and was offered a deal for £53,000.

He was told: “A plate is about 40,000 to buy in, plus a motor. You’re talking abut a £50,000 to £55,000 package to buy in.”

The taxi boss – who lives in a £1.5million home in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, with wife Margaret – offers two finance packages to fund the cab deal.

And the fact that he drives a Range Rover Overfinch and Bentley, worth aroung £200,000, suggests business is booming.

Judging by taxi office notice boards across Glasgow, other cab licence owners are openly selling their permits for between £40,000 and £60,000.

Our source revealed: “The council cannot say that the person licensed to display the plate is the same person who is driving or operating the cab. They cab barely verify that the person named as the plate licensee hasn’t sold it on. The police regularly come up against this problem when tracing witnesses to crimes. In some ways the private hire system is more transparent – when you call them they know where you are, where yo are going and who they have sent to collect you.”

More than 70 per cent of councils in England and Wales have scrapped the restricted licences scheme in a bid to make the system less vulnerable to abuse.

Critics insist the artificial limit on cab numbers in Glasgow has helped fuel the black market trade in gold dust plates.

Our insider added: “It costs a lot of money to run a cab, but there is a profit margin there whether it is all done above board or with corners being cut.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill last year praised black cabs as a safer alternative to the private hire taxi network, which has been rocked by a number of revelations about its links to the underworld.

He pledged to crack down on rogue minicab firms and evidence of that was seen last month as councils rejected a string of applications for taxi base licences.

In the case of Glasgow-based Network Private Hire, which had a £2million NHS contract, cops had alleged close ties to the notorious McGovern crime clan.

There is no suggestion the black cab industry has any connection with organised crime, but last night politicians called for an immediate probe into its licensing.”

Labour’s justice spokesman Richard Baker MSP said: “There needs to be an urgent investigation into what is going on.”

And Glasgow Nats SP Sandra While said, “This is a very disturbing problem that the News of the World has brought to light. We’ve just had a crackdown on private hire taxis and now there needs to be much greater scrutiny of the hackney cab business. The council should have an investigation to find out exactly what is going on, find out what checks and balances there are over this issue and renewal of licence plates and put an end to this black market trade.”

Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken – a former district council licensing committee chairman – added: “This has been going on for many years, though the sums now are a lot more substantial.”

However, last night John Cowe DENIED he was selling taxi plates.

“I am not selling the plates. It is the goodwill of our business, the company name, the same as others ae doing in Edinburgh, Liverpool, London and other cities. There’s nothing illegal about it.”

When reminded of his offer to our investigator, he replied: “I never mentioned any sums of money.” He added: “The licences are granted at the discretion of Glasgow City Council. I can’t sell something that doesn’t belong to me. I’m selling the goodwill of our business, on the condition that the person is a good and proper person and the city council will transfer the licence to them. If they are not good and propr people the licence won’t be transferred. There is no monetary value on the licence, they are granted by the council.”

“There are several other people in Glasgow who do what I do, not just myself.”

A council spokesman added: “Taxi licences are granted or refused against a legislative regime set out by national government. Licensing committees rule on applications following consultations with police and can also hear police evidence relating to alleged beaches of licences – however, they do not themselves investigate individual cases. If the News of the World is able to provide police with evidence of licenses being abused, our committee would obviously welcome the opportunity to examine it.”

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Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

FAO James Douglas

James

Thoroughly enjoyed your article, it covers much of what we've been saying in our campaign to de-restrict the taxi market in Edinburgh to provide a better service for the public and to give qualified drivers unfettered access to the tools of our trade, a right we believe is enshrined in European competition rules and Human Rights law.

1. Edinburgh's council has known about the transfer of plates despite the law not permitting it.

2. It set up the transfer scheme and actively encourages it - enquirers about licence application have been directed by the council to those companies arranging such transfers.

3. There is a shortage of taxis in Edinburgh - this has resulted in young females getting into unlicensed vehicles because they can't reasonably hail a taxi at peak times - this has led to serious sexual assaults, a recent case resulting in a 5 year stretch for the perp. There's still another individual at large from a separate incident.

4. Taxi plates in Edinburgh are selling for around £50K.

5. The resrtiction stops drivers from driving their own vehicles, and has caused weekly rentals to climb to up to £350. In hard economic times this is intolerable and drivers, who can't get their own licence to control their own costs are having to leave their trade.

6. In my 17 years in the trade taxi plate numbers have risen by 30%, meanwhile private hire has risen by 300%. yes, 300%. My work is being given away to PH because the council won't let me drive my own taxi. There's now almost as many PH as taxis and rising. Less regulated PH expands while taxis don't.

7. I have been battling the council for 8 years to get a licence. I have 3 cases currently sisted at the court. The problem in pursuing these is the inordinate expense of doing so. The council knows this and uses the deep pocket of the public purse to stop me. In effect they're using my money to do me down.

8. The council has just refused 92 licence applications. It received 35 applications then wrote to those on an illegal list held by them asking them to apply. It then promoted those applicants to the front of the queue and gave them their licence. This discriminated against every other applicant. All in the full knowledge of the rape case com ing to court.

9. The list they used is illegal. It is closed and not open to everyone. This restriction is contrary to natural justice.

10. The Law made no provision for any list. Nor any transfer of plates. The transfer now being allowed prevents anyone driving their own vehicle unless they cough up the huge false plate value.

11. During one application which was refused, the applicant told Edinburgh's Licensing sub-committee that he had been thrown off his taxi by the company he worked for (City Cabs). This was because he had applied for a licence. He was therefore redundant and needed access to his own licence and vehicle to maintain his employment. Cllr Colin Keir (SNP), Convenor of the committee stated, "We are not here to discuss your employment status." This council, and this councillor, has no regard for individual's rights, or the effect their decisions have on them or their families.

James I could go on at great length, but I'm not sure you would read it anyway.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

What goodwill?

The plate premium is a scarcity premium, goodwill is irrelevant and clearly not present.

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IDFIMH

It doesn't necessarily mean that there shouldn't be restriction it just means that the loophole needs to be closed

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

John cowe' he's been upto it for years!

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Glasgow's Finest

OOOPS.

Sh*t airborne and heading for the fan.....

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Yeah......I'd personally jail him and anyone else who sells plates.......AliT are you reading this....

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

All plates should be allocated to an individual named person.

This company name carry on was was designed as a loophole intentionally, everyone knew what the reason was to put it in a company name, councils included.

It is time it stopped.

Agreed

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

I don't know John Cowe, but I hear he's a good guy. A god fearing Christian no less, apparently he's helped a lot of people in his local community and beyond. I think the News of the World making him a target for criticism, a little bit harsh under the circumstances.

If the [edited by admin] should stick to anyone it should be the Scottish Government, and the Local Authorities for allowing such a black market to exist. We've been banging on about the illegal trade in plates for years, and it's not like the LA, never knew about it. The cheeky barstewards actively encouraged it.

This is an opportunity for CEC, to pull the plug without too much of a fuss or expense.

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

Proof of the pudding. ..



http://www.fastblacks.com/links.html

It must be true

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

aye! from my cell.

padded for luxury i hope

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Think the council is concrned that the blackmarket for taxi plates in Edinburgh is £65Million?

It couldn't be that the council's opposition to de-restriction is fear?

That having set up the restriction, that having set up de-facto plate transfers (illegal acording to the Act), that having taken many steps to support vested interests - including its own - that this council now fears a legal suit feom those who not unreasonably played the council's game and are now being royally shafted.

Is a £65 million lawsuit what the council fears? And needs a test case in court to get it off the hook?

Doesn't it seem possible that Keir and Jim Inch could be doing jail time sometime soon?

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

Jailtime?


We'll certainly be seeking to cause them maximum compromise here




Question is do we get them before they get us?

Exciting times indeed.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"